Alright, so its almost been a year now,and my car still wont charge when i am stopped, this happens ONLY in drive. I am really frustrated cause my alternator did fail at 1 point and i had it rebuilt and it has never been the same since, i was told it was the brushes that were messed up and that was what they had changed. Second rebuild it was the bearings.

What do you guys think? I went to get a rebuild once again today and i explained my problem. They told me the alternator was working fine, i went to another shop and they also said it was working fine, went to auto zone and had them bench it, and it also passed!.

What could the problem be?

I was thinking bad connection, so today i wired in a new alternator plug, soldered heat shrinked and wrapped.
I also went as far as buying 0 guage wires and i went ahead and did the big 3 upgrade, actually big 4. But i didnt stop there! also bought brand new gold plated battery terminals..

Maybe my idle is too low?, i read threads saying that 450-500 is normal while in drive. So tomarrow i will be cleaning the throttle body, maf sensor and a new air filter just to eliminate that.

Maybe the battery even if it tested good?

Maybe they changed out my voltage regulator and didnt tell me and they used a cheapo, should i buy\ where to buy a authentic lexus\toyota regulator and put it in myself since it is right in the back?

I really want to go oem but i fear it might not solve the. Problem, what does anyone suggest

 

isnt there relays for low rpms and higher rpms? because the faster the alternator spins, the more energy is created. i hope that helps you out some.

sorry if this sounds crazy. its been a long time since ive seen this problem (i work on a lot of different cars)

 

Check the belt tensioner.... pulley size could've been changed when you had it rebuilt,voltage regulators are rarely replaced because they're not cheap......Buy a new alternator..... from the dealer... that will solve your problem. ..

 

Could be the slip rings are worn beyond service.
Open it up there is not much to them lots of write ups and diy videos.
Personally I would not trust a re-builder, mostly because they wont care as much as you would to get it right and its to easy enough to do yourself.

If I were you, I would buy new or get one off a salvage and put new brushes in it yourself.

 

OEM or junk our only options.

 

Checked, the pulley size has not been changed and the belt is still on tight as usual

 

Yes i would much rather do repair work myself if possible. New oem might be my next step, i just want to make sure this is the problem. If everyone is telling me the alternator is fine, what could the problem be?

 

Just did the throttle body cleaning and maf sensor cleaning and still have the problem, my idle did go up in drive from 400-450 to about550-600. Better but still not good enough to charge the battery, Any input on what my next steps should be?

 

get a new alternator from Lexus. Bring a friend with a defib so he can bring you back after you pay the price for it....